May 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. decision to remove Francesca ​Albanese, a U.N. expert on the ‌Palestinian territories, from a list of sanctioned individuals is temporary and does not reflect a policy change, the State Department said on Thursday.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Albanese in July 2025 over what it said were her efforts to prompt the International Criminal Court to take action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.

Earlier this month a federal judge temporarily blocked the sanctions, finding that the Trump administration likely violated her free-speech rights by imposing the measures ​after she criticized U.S. ally Israel's war in ​Gaza.

"The Government has appealed the court's order," the State Department said in a statement.

"In the event the D.C. Circuit stays or overturns that order, the Government intends to restore Ms. Albanese's name to the SDN List," it said referring to the list of Specially Designated Nationals.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Costas Pitas;Editing by David Ljunggren)